Sport Industry Research and Analysis

An Informed Approach to Decision Making

Jacquelyn Cuneen, David A. Tobar, David A. Tobar, Jacquelyn Cuneen, David Tobar

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781000029741
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

Sport Industry Research and Analysis offers a straightforward, no nonsense approach to research design and statistical analyses in sport organizations. This fully revised and updated new edition describes the research process, from identifying a research question to analyzing data, and uses real world scenarios to help students and industry professionals understand how to conduct research and apply the results in their wider work.

The book includes clear, step-by-step instructions for the analysis and interpretation of data. It explains how to use Excel and SPSS for every key statistic and statistical technique, with screenshots illustrating every step and additional scenarios providing further context. "In Practice" contributions from sport industry professionals demonstrate how these practitioners use statistical analyses in their everyday tasks, and this new edition includes expanded sections on conducting a literature review and research ethics, as well as ancillary materials for instructors including slides, test questions, data files, answer sheets, and videos.

This is the clearest and most easy-to-use guide to research and analysis techniques in sport, helping the reader to build essential skills and confidence in using statistics, vital to support decision-making in any sport enterprise. It is an essential text for any sport business research methods course, and an invaluable reference for all sport industry professionals.

PART I

Approaches to collecting information and data

1

Why we need to know about research and analysis

And what they have to do with a career in sport management

Sport managers use research and analysis every day

Research involves the systematic collection of data and study of materials to address a question or make a decision. Analysis is the exploration of data, especially through the use of statistics. Analytics is the process by which data are explored. Statistics is a way to interpret a collection of observations or data that is obtained from research. Professionals in the sport industry use research, analysis, and statistics every day to answer questions and make decisions. Consider the many questions sport managers must ask in a day. More importantly, think about the many answers they will need to find in order to make informed decisions.

Suppose a marketing director starts the day by interviewing five new sport management graduates for a sales position. The candidates’ responses constitute data that the director will use in making the hiring decision. The director then attends a meeting where the current marketing staff presents findings on last season’s game promotions and their effects on attendance. Those audience figures constitute data that the director and the sales team will use in determining the most efficient use of future resources to attract fans. The director then meets with the sport communications staff to discuss next year’s 50th anniversary celebration of a team championship. She decides to look in the company’s and local newspaper’s archives to find out about the stadium signage from that era, in order to approach those same companies to sponsor the hallmark recognition event at the championship celebration. Finally, the director meets with the ticketing department staff to reach a consensus on the artwork that will be used on upcoming hardcopy and e-tickets and the corresponding graphics for the team’s ticket office website.

All of the above situations are essentially analyses or research studies. For the interview, the director uses the naturalistic method to collect qualitative data that will be categorized to form a conclusion (Chapter 6). In the sales team meeting, the director is addressing descriptive quantitative data, likely collected via questionnaire (Chapter 4). As a result of the meeting to plan the anniversary celebration, the director will use primary and secondary sources to conduct historical inquiry (Chapter 6). Last, the session with the ticketing staff is a modified Delphi study, where a group of experts reaches consensus on a vital issue (Chapter 6).

As shown in these examples, research and analysis address critical questions such as

• whom to ask to get answers,
• what resources will be needed to find clear answers that can stand up to
• scrutiny,
• how the results should be interpreted, and
• what recommendations should be made.

Managers in any position—but particularly sport managers—benefit from research and analysis and, therefore, are obligated to understand it: to know the process by which they or others should conduct it, to have the savvy to interpret it, and to know what it can do for them.

Scientific method: the foundation of the research and analysis process

Although some sport industry issues might require a judgment call (e.g., hiring an established financial officer for a large salary or outsourcing accounting services to a local firm; purchasing a maintenance contract for a copier or paying higher fees when the machine needs prescribed service), most questions and problems that arise in the sport industry, as in any business, have to be addressed and solved without bias (e.g., audience assessment, economic impact). The scientific method, a centuries-old mainstay of scholarly inquiry, is a systematic, controlled process of information gathering and problem solving. Scholars employ the scientific method to generate theories (hypotheses), acquire new knowledge, test existing knowledge, and draw conclusions based on original data. The scientific method is also valuable for sport managers, who use it to determine solutions to practical issues in the workplace. Information collected through the scientific method tends to stand the test of repetition and time (i.e., it is empirical research). The information collected can be fundamental, essential knowledge (basic research), or it can be used in actual practice to solve problems (applied research).

The questions that scientists pose are similar in basic respects to the questions that arise in professional situations. In both cases, there is a relationship between two or more variables (this means that the question is one that does have an answer; we say that it possesses feasibility). Also, in both cases we have a clear question or unique problem that can be tested (we say that the question possesses clarity) and new facts that can be discovered to add to existing facts. In each setting, there is a problem or question to be solved or answered, an idea of what might be revealed, an observation to be made or data to be gathered, and a conclusion to be drawn.

Much of what we know about the sport management field and industry is the result of scientific inquiry. Information—whether it is called research, analysis, or a needs assessment—is indispensable to a sport organization’s welfare. When information is lacking, unresolved major issues that could have been understood easily through simple analysis can blindside an organization and its strategic plan.

This book provides a straightforward explanation of research analysis processes—how to conduct research and analysis, how to treat data, and how to understand the meaning and usefulness of the results. With a focus on common research and analysis methodologies and techniques, we present realistic situations that illustrate how the methods will be useful in a sport industry setting. Following explanation of the methodologies, we present real-world accounts of statistical uses, including sample procedures and data sets, as well as instructions for using spreadsheet software to analyze the data. Throughout the book, industry professionals outline ways in which research and analysis have enhanced or influenced their decision making.

Overview of research and analysis resources

The importance of information to sport managers becomes exceedingly clear when one examines the sport-specific analytics providers and professional associations that exist to contribute to the sport industry knowledge base. These organizations, which form a sector of the sport industry themselves, provide services ranging from interviewing (questionnaire construction; focus groups) to comprehensive consulting (research design, construction, coding, analysis, interpreting, reporting). Table 1.1 is a partial listing of commercial information sources commonly used by sport managers.

Table 1.1 Summary of commercial information providers and services

Provider	Services
ESPN Sports Poll www.lukerontrends.com/aboutsportspoll/	Databases on trends, product usage and preferences, and fan interests. Poll results are often picked up by national media as newsworthy for the general public.
Joyce Julius & Associates www.joycejulius.com	Specialized firm measuring the outcomes of sponsorships and endorsements
Sport Business Research Network www.sbrnet.com	Data on participation, fan profiles, venues, finance, sporting goods industry, sponsorship and marketing, media
Nielsen Scarborough www.scarborough.com	Full-service audience assessment
Sports Economics www.sportseconomics.com	Provides consulting on various analyses related to sport business, finance, and marketing
Turnkey Sports & Entertainment turnkeyse.com	Provider of market research, data, and analytics related to sports and entertainment
Sport Marketing Association http://sportmarketingassociation.net	All segments of the sport marketing industries, through an annual conference and its journal, Sport Marketing Quarterly

Many other sources of reliable information regarding sport issues are available. Scholarly and other types of academic and specialized organizations provide continued professional learning to college and university faculty, as well as sport industry personnel. These are excellent sources of cutting-edge research, through their annual conferences and refereed (i.e., reviewed, adjudicated) journals. Table 1.2 is a partial listing of academic societies and their associated journals.

Table 1.2 Summary of academic societies and journals.

Academic society	Focus
Association for Applied Sport Psychology www.appliedsportpsych.org	Issues associated with athletes, participation, and other psychosocial aspects of sport performance, through an annual conference and its publications, Journal of Applied Sport Psychology and Journal of Sport Psychology in Action
European Association for Sport Management www.easm.net	Study and research in sport management. Publishes European Sport Management Quarterly
North American Society for Sport Management www.nassm.com	Scholarship in sport leadership/management, media, finance, marketing, communication, venues, and legal and social aspects, through an annual conference and its publication, Journal of Sport Management
North American Society for the Sociology of Sport www.nasss.org	Sociological aspects of play, games, sport, and athletics, through an annual conference and its publication, Sociology of Sport Journal
Sport Management Association of Australia and new Zealand www.smaanz.org	Scholarly inquiry in sport management. Its publication is the Sport Management Review.
Sport Marketing Association http://sportmarketingassociation.net	All segments of the sport marketing industries, through an annual conference and its journal, Sport Marketing Quarterly

In addition to scholarly journals, abstracts (brief summaries of original research) are usually available on the websites of the organizations listed in these tables. Finally, although they are journalistic rather than scholarly in context, trade journals such as Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal and Team Marketing Report are informative trade publications that contain up-to-date news, statistics, and views on sport enterprise. Information and data contained in these trade papers is highly regarded by the industry and often cited in scholarly works.

Primary versus secondary data

Primary data are original and collected first-hand by researchers, through focus groups, interviews, surveys, field trials, and so forth. Although this book primarily focuses on methods for collecting and analyzing primary data, it will also assist readers in appraising the value of secondary data—information collected and reported by others through various research resources. In contrast to primary data, secondary data are previously gathered and made available, free or for purchase, by research houses, government organizations, or commercial agencies, such as chambers of commerce and local/regional business journals. These agencies can be good sources of information, but users should be cautious in applying the data to their specific needs. Secondary data may have resulted from a commissioned study, and thus the results may slant toward the individual or group that paid for the study (e.g., a sports brand commissions a study on equipment and reports only the good opinions of the gear); the information might be dated (e.g., in government census reports); or the descriptions of the participants and the means that were used to collect the data might not be reported in detail.

Retail profiles (portrayals of businesses’ market presence) are another common source of secondary data, providing dependable reports of commercial information. Retail profiles are periodically available in city or regional business journals, and they outline data such as the total population located within a 5-, 10-, and 25-mile radius of the business, household income, and monthly household spending on items such as clothing, groceries, and entertainment. The profiles are usually trustworthy sources of quality information, if they are presented in an unbiased report format. However, beware of retail profiles and other reports provided in the form of a printed or electronic infomercial, as they may not be research-based in the strictest sense and might reflect the biases of the advertisers.

Similar demographic figures are also available from the U.S. Census Bureau. That bureau provides information by city, county, or metropolitan statistical area. Its American Factfinder program (http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml) provides information about gender, age, education level, income, and so forth for a city or county name or ZIP code.

In practice

Research and analysis in the field

Sandy White, President, SW Sport Management

When I was completing my research and statistics classes as a sport management undergraduate and master’s student, I did not fully realize the extent to which I would be working with data in my career. I was not going to be a sport management researcher, and I did not fully appreciate those classes that seemed tailored to some of the other students who were planning to spend their careers in study and teaching. My dream was a career in the sport industry working in management, sponsorships, and finance, and the courses that f...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Glossary
• PART I: Approaches to collecting information and data
• PART II: Approaches to analyzing and interpreting data
• Afterword
• Appendix A Survey data: MiLB scenario I
• Appendix B Survey data: health club scenario II
• Appendix C Performance data: NFL combine scenario III
• Index